Disclaimer: I don't own anything apart from my OCs, plot line. I wish I did own Divergent as many do but unfortunately it belongs to Veronica Roth.

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Welcome to Ashes. There will be kissing, fighting, cheating, secrets, lies, and a bit of torture on the side. ;D Okay people, let's get this party started!

"I'll see you in the future when we're older

And we are full of stories to be told."

Bastille

Laughter Lines

My name is Abigail Blane and I am one of Erudite's biggest secrets. We are the slaves of the Erudite, though most of them don't know that. We live in cold, damp steel cells, eating the bland, crappy food that they give us and, doing everything they say. We work almost every day, lugging heavy boxes or cleaning laboratories and lots of other grueling tasks. I am 14 years old but the documents say I'm 12; I was put in this cell when I was 6 years old, supposedly when I was 4. Though life here is terrible, there is one tiny bit of freedom. Every Sunday, we are allowed to go do whatever we want. I run. I walk to the marsh, then I run down the grassy, uneven path until it is time to go back. I love running. Nothing can compare to the feeling that I get when I run; the adrenaline pulsing through my veins, the thumps of my feet against the solid ground, the wind whistling through my hair. I have to admit that running undoubtedly is my favorite thing, maybe because it makes me feel free. But then reality sets in and I'm dragged back to my cell and forced to do another week of hard labor.

I am not here alone, I have Eric. He'd been in this cell alone 2 years before I came, meaning that he is 2 years older than me. Eric's always been there for me and I for him. Sometimes, if you slack during the day or stay out too long on Sundays then they cut you on the back with a knife. That's when Eric is most comforting. We will sit together on the floor, Eric's arm around me, the bandages wrapped around our backs that slowly turn red as our life blood seeps through. We talk about Dauntless, the brave faction, how that on the choosing day we'll drop our blood onto the coals. That's our dream.

It is Eric's choosing day today, he is 16. I don't want him to leave, but I do want him to leave as well. 4 years without him, having to survive in this prison alone but then we'll be together, together in Dauntless.

Eric jumps down from his bunk and prods me with his foot. "Abigail, wake up, you're not sleeping in on my choosing day," I roll over to face him. Eric has dirty blonde hair shaved short like the boys in Abnegation and cold dark grey eyes. He wears a pair of thin rectangular glasses and a smart Erudite blue suit. "Eric!" I whine as I roll out of bed. I look around and sigh. The room that me and Eric share is horrid, lonely, and cold. The steel floors and walls have nothing to insulate them so the coldness of this underground slave factory seeps in every second of the day - and night, forever. The bunks that we sleep on are just large uneven slabs of metal, held up by two rusting brackets, ready to snap and crush whoever's underneath to death.

I stand up slowly, shivering heavily. I walk over to the right hand corner of the room, near the door, to the pile of our blue clothes. Slowly, I get dressed straight away, not afraid to show Eric my underwear.

"I don't want you to leave," I say to Eric as I pull on my tight, blue shirt.

"I don't want to leave you either, especially here" he replies, giving me a dispirited glance.

My hands start to shake even more as my throat tightens and I try to keep the tears from falling down my face. I fumble with the buttons on my shirt but, then larger hands gently rest on mine and move them down before beginning to do up the remaining buttons. A tear rolls down my cheek and splashes onto the steel floor. Eric does up the last button on my shirt and then places his hands gently on my cheeks, wiping away the falling tears with his thumbs. His large callused hands run down my jawline with their familiar roughness. I wrap my arms around him and rest my head on his shoulder. He then lifts my head up, his deep blue eyes staring into mine with a new found passion. I don't know who does it first but, it doesn't matter. Eric's lips meet mine and he pushes me against the wall. I don't oblige, I join in, pushing myself closer to him. I moan as Eric runs his lips down my jaw line and Eric growls as he smashes his lips back to mine. But I know that our time is running out. I gently push Eric away and sadness fills his eyes when he realizes what I mean. "I think I might be in love with you Abbie," he whispers. I nod in agreement and pull Eric into another embrace. We stand there for a while, as if to prolong what little time we have left. Eric pulls away and takes off his glasses. "A reminder," he says as he places them in my hand. "Goodbye Abigail," he says.

"Goodbye Eric," I reply.

As if they were waiting for our farewell to finish, the cell door bangs open, making me jump, and the guards drag Eric away from me.

I know that in exactly 4 years time, we will be reunited and free. Free...